by Rye Hart
“You don’t like the guy or something?” I asked.
“I don’t. He’s nice enough when he’s around other people, but I know it’s all an act. He was a nerdy little shit in high school, but the past couple of years, he really thinks he’s hot stuff. I see the way he treats my sister when he thinks no one is looking, and it’s all I can do not to beat the shit out of him on the front lawn.”
“Does he put his hands on her?” I asked. I felt my blood boiling at the mere idea of someone putting their hands on Theresa .
“You think he’d still be breathing if he did?” Hollis asked.
I nodded in understanding. “Have you told her how you feel about this guy?” I tried.
“I did, and she didn’t take it well. She—”
My brow ticked with confusion as Hollis gathered his words.
“She went through a real rebellious phase. Her senior year was rough, and then it ran smack dab into Mom dying. I brought it up to her, and it made her even angrier, and we didn’t talk for a while. That’s why I took a job on the other end of the state. Until I started getting those damn emails.”
“So you came back to look out for your father and started looking out for Theresa.”
“Yep. She’d be pissed if she found out, though. So I told her I moved back to look out for Dad and seek out better opportunities at the department.”
I shook my head and chuckled. “I still can’t believe you’re a cop, dude. After all the shit you and I did growing up?”
Hollis laughed too. “I know, right? After Mom died, I figured I should get my shit together. I actually love being a cop.”
“Glad to hear it, man. I sure wouldn’t want to be on the other end of your baton though,” I laughed. “So, what do you suppose to do about this douchebag Ike?”
“That fucker makes one wrong move again, and I’ll slap him in some damn cuffs so fast he won’t know what’s happening.”
I nodded and took another swig of my beer. “Well, speaking of Theresa, what is she doing these days?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
“Ah, she’s Dad’s receptionist.”
“She’s what?” I asked.
“I know, right? I keep telling her to branch out and get another damn job. The girl went to school and got a fucking business degree, and she’s hunched over a computer scheduling people’s teeth cleanings for the old man.”
“I always wondered what she was going to be when she grew up. You said a business degree?” I asked.
“Oh yeah. Was hell-bent on starting her own online thing or whatever. But Mom died, and she studied hard to graduate early. Dad offered her the job, so she took it. She said it was to pay off her student loans, but I think that was just an excuse because she was afraid she’d fail at what she really wanted to do. I don’t think it’s healthy for either of them.”
I thought back to the anonymous email I’d gotten that had brought me back. If Hollis knew someone had sent me that email, he’d be livid that I was in town to watch his sister, too. He had always been protective of her, but it seemed like he had only gotten more so over the years.
I could still see those words in the email.
Theresa needs you. She’s in trouble. Please come home and help her.
“Why isn’t it healthy for them?” I asked.
“He’s clung to her a lot ever since Mom died. Like tonight. She’s Dad’s ‘plus one’ for some banquet. They’ll dance and eat and drink, and he’ll say it’s a father-daughter night, but I think it’s because he doesn’t want to go by himself and he’s trying to ward off any interest from other available women.”
“That’s fucked up.”
“It is, and I know Theresa knows it, but I can’t get her to draw that boundary. I think she feels guilty because she and my parents were barely talking when Mom died. It’s like she thinks this is her penance. But she’s got nothing to feel guilty about,” Hollis said.
I thought again to the email. Maybe it wasn’t all about Ike. Maybe this person knew that Theresa needed saving from herself too.
“Why do you think she stays with this Ike guy?” I asked.
Hollis shrugged his broad shoulders. “Beats the shit out of me man. Maybe because it’s just easier because they’ve been together so long. I can’t think of any other reason she’d put up with that asshole.”
“And to think Glen thought I was the bad seed,” I muttered.
“You know he eventually told me he threw you out because he thought you were fucking Theresa?”
“Are you fucking serious?” I asked, incredulous. “There’s no way in hell I would have ever done that!”
“That’s what I fucking said!” Hollis agreed.
“What the fuck made him think that?” I asked.
“According to Mom, he heard Jane and Theresa giggling over you one night or some shit. Said my sister was talking about kissing you. She had a teenage fucking crush, and my dad lost his shit over it.”
For some reason, the thought of Theresa fantasizing about kissing me even all those years ago, made goosebumps prickle my skin. She’d been an awkward kid, but there had still been something about her; something that told me she’d been a knockout when she grew up.
I shook my head and let out a sigh. “Well, I did fine for myself. No reason to worry about me now,” I said.
“Yeah, that car out there tells me you’re doing just fine.”
“Don’t like it parked next to your Ford Focus?” I asked with a grin.
“It makes my dick look very small, yes. Want another beer?”
“Gladly. And I’ll buy the next case.”
“And you’ll get the fancy shit, too, you rich bitch!”
I chuckled and tossed my empty bottle to Hollis. I turned my head and looked across the road just in time to see a car pull up. I cocked my body and slung my arm over the couch, watching as a curvy leg stepped out of the car, followed by a beautiful head of curly brown hair, thick thighs, and a chest that made me salivate.
Theresa.
Holy fuck had she grown up. And I’d been right.
She was fucking gorgeous.
“Catch,” Hollis said.
I turned around and caught the bottle in my hand before I settled back down onto the couch.
“What’s for dinner?” I asked, trying my damndest not to think about how much I’d like to make Theresa my meal.
CHAPTER 5
THERESA
I deserved a damn peace prize.
My restraint at the banquet was herculean.
My father was going on about all sorts of stuff I didn’t care about, and riding home with him only to be footsteps away from Grant was enough to make my head explode. I saw his car still in the driveway, and it took all I had to get in my own car and drive off.
I woke up the next morning and took an extra-long shower. Ike was off to work, and it was the last day he would be staying with me. I dried myself off and slid into a pair of fitted jeans and a top that showed off the size D boobs that had finally shown up my senior year of high school, then put on a bit of makeup to compliment my eyes. I went downstairs and grabbed a casserole dish I’d been meaning to return to Hollis anyway. I thought it made a perfect excuse to go to his place. I would act surprised when I saw Grant, just to sell it. The last thing I needed was for my brother to know I was only there to see his best friend. I’d never hear the end of it.
The dish would get me in the door and give me a glimpse of Grant.
Just a glimpse. That was all I wanted.
I pulled into the driveway and didn’t see Hollis’ car there, but I figured it was probably in the garage. Grant’s car, however, was sitting right where it had been yesterday, the sun bouncing off its spotless wax job.
I knocked on the door and waited for my brother to open. I shuffled from foot to foot, wondering how bad an idea this was. I was dating Ike, and there I was, pining for a look at some guy I had a stupid crush on in high school.
But I mostly needed closure.
I needed to know that my father kicking him out hadn’t hindered the success I knew he would have in life. Even though his car could’ve told me that.
And a silly part of me prayed that he’d look nothing like I remembered. Maybe a couple extra pounds around his once chiseled abs. And, if I was lucky, thinning hair on his head.
I was starting to think that it was a bad idea to be there. I turned around and went to head back to my car when I heard the door open behind me. I whipped back around and smiled, ready to shove the casserole dish at my brother.
But it wasn’t Hollis who stood in front of me, it was Grant.
And he was shirtless.
I fumbled with the glass dish in my hand as my eyes fell to his chest. His wonderfully-chiseled chest that was decorated in tattoos. I couldn't pull my gaze from him. I was mesmerized, standing there like an idiot, my mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out.
He was beautiful, and his magnificence made me sway on my feet.
“I um—brought these for—”
My eyes slowly raked up to his face as I took him in, with his amber brown eyes and his thick brown hair swooped off to the side and perfectly set in place. The sides of his head were shaved, and his arms were bulging with muscles. He’d grown another couple inches since I’d last seen him, now standing over six feet tall and his shoulders were wide and sculpted. I closed my eyes and took a breath.
Holy hell.
I opened my eyes and saw Grant grinning. Shit. What was wrong with me? I looked down at the dish in my hands and shoved it into his body, watching as his hands curled around the offering.
“Just bringing that back to Hollis,” I said, finally finding my voice.
I turned on my heels quickly to make my way to my car, but his voice called out to me.
“You should come in and wait for him. He’ll be back in a little bit.”
My eyes fluttered closed as the tone of his voice danced along my skin. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck tickle with his breath. I heard him take a step toward me, his body heat radiating against my back. I kept my eyes closed, taking in the moment.
It was the closest I’d ever been to him. And I hated myself for loving it.
I nodded, but I didn’t move. I couldn't. I was paralyzed. Frozen in fear and want and lust and embarrassment. I could feel my cheeks tinting with regret. I felt him move as the pulsing of his breath grew closer, and soon his lips were hovering next to my ear.
I shuddered at the sensation.
“Are you coming?” Grant asked, his voice low and manly.
My knees almost buckled at his question.
I wanted to turn around, to push him into the house, and ravage him like I’d dreamed of doing for nearly nine damn years.
But I couldn't.
I had a boyfriend, and none of this was right.
“No,” I said breathlessly.
I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other and walk toward my car. I opened the door and looked up, finding Grant still standing in the doorway. His muscles glistened with beauty, like his car. His abs were separated with thick lines I wanted to trace with my tongue and his hips tapered into a “V” that disappeared below his waistband and pointed the way to the promised land.
I hopped in my car, cranked the engine, and took off like a bat out of hell. I couldn’t get away from him fast enough.
I pressed my thighs together to try to quell the ache that seeing Grant in the flesh had given me, but the pressure only made things worse. My panties were damp, and my heart was pounding in my ears. I was going to have to stay far away from Hollis’ until Grant was out of town if I didn’t want to look like a love-crazed teenaged idiot in front of him again.
I pulled into the lot and turned off the car, taking a few deep breaths while I tried to settle my racing pulse. I closed my eyes but all I saw behind my lids was Grant’s broad, tattooed chest, and the flood of warmth between my legs started all over again. Dammit, I needed to get ahold of myself.
I climbed out of my car and bolted up the stairs to my place. In my haze to shake Grant from my mind, I didn’t see Ike’s car in front of my apartment. In my want to get upstairs and take a cold shower to calm myself down, I didn’t even notice the door was already unlocked. I strode through the apartment and headed straight for my room, but a voice descended onto my ears.
“Where the hell were you?”
I whipped around and saw Ike standing in the hallway, his eyes raking up and down my form.
“Jesus Ike, you scared the shit out of me!” I said, my hand over my racing heart.
“Why were you expecting someone else?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Uh, no. I was expecting to be alone. Aren’t you supposed to be at work?” I asked him.
“I had a break in between clients so I thought I’d stop by and surprise you. Looks like I accomplished that. So where were you?” he asked again.
“I went to go see my brother,” I said.
“No, you didn’t,” Ike said. “Try again.”
I stared at him, wondering just for a minute if he had somehow seen me on the porch with a half-naked Grant. “Yes, I did. I went to my brother’s house to return some dishes.”
“Then why are you dressed up?”
“I’m not. I’m wearing jeans and a shirt for Christ sake.”
“And makeup?”
“What’s wrong with me wearing makeup? I wear makeup every damn day.”
“For me, yes. For work, yes. Not for gallivanting around in public. And why is your shirt so low-cut?”
Annoyed, I put my hand on my hip and stuck my chin out defiantly. “Because I like it that way,” I said.
“Well, I don’t. It makes you look like you're looking for attention.”
“For fuck sake, you’re being ridiculous,” I said, growing angrier by the minute.
“Where were you?” he asked again. “I know you. I’ve known you since we were kids. You don’t get dressed up unless you have a reason.”
“I am not ‘dressed up’. I just went to return some stuff to my brother,” I said again, slowly so he would hear me this time.
Despite my efforts to hold them at bay, tears rose to my eyes. I was tired of the fighting, the accusations, the insinuations; but more than that, I was tired of Ike trying to control me. He hadn’t been like this in the first few years of our relationship, but as of late, he was getting worse and worse by the day. And I was about done with it.
“You wouldn’t dress like this to go see Hollis,” Ike said.
“I’m not dressed like anything! I am wearing jeans and a fucking shirt. I’m not in a miniskirt, or a halter top, or a goddamn bikini. You are being ridiculous,” I said, my voice rising with each word.
Ike stepped forward and put a finger in my face. “I don’t know who you think you’re fooling, but it sure as fuck isn’t me.”
I threw my hands in the air in exasperation. “I’m done, Ike. I can’t do this anymore. I don’t know why things changed or when exactly, but I’m not some property of yours to be managed. I’m your girlfriend. And if you can’t treat me with the respect I deserve, then I don’t want you around anymore.”
Ike’s eyes narrowed, and his fists balled at his sides. “You think you can do better than me? With that big ass and those fat thighs?” he spat.
I took an involuntary step backward, and my eyes nearly bugged out of my head. Never in all the time that we had been together had Ike ever commented negatively on my shape. He’d always told me he loved my curves.
My eyes were finally fully open, and I was seeing him for the manipulative asshole he really was. I could see now, that he was not the boy I’d grown to love. He was a miserable, selfish son of a bitch, and I wasn’t going to put up with him anymore.
“Get out,” I said.
“Gladly. I don’t even know what I’m doing with you anymore anyway. I don’t even love you anymore,” he said with a sneer.
“Get out!” I roared.
Ike grabbed his keys and walked out of my apartment. I was shaking with anger, but still, I felt free. It was easier to breathe, and the silence was comforting. Ike and I were financially intertwined, and I wasn't sure what I was going to do about that. I would have to find a cheaper place, closer to work, and disentangle my life from his once and for all.
But even as the tears flowed, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders.
I was finally free.
CHAPTER 6
GRANT
It didn’t feel right to stay with Hollis and not do anything, so I set out to fix the steps on his back porch. They were rickety and caving in, and it was a damn accident waiting to happen. I went to the hardware store in town and picked up a few things before grabbing some lumber from the lumberyard, then I set out to make him some decent steps.
I could only be away from work for a few days without things going to shit, and I had no idea how to execute any of my plans. Hell, Theresa wouldn’t even come in and talk to me yesterday, which threw a wrench into things. All these fucking years later and she was still the only girl who had ever touched my heart. I had survived off dreams about her and the few pictures Hollis would send me of the family through email before Laura died.
But having her on that damn porch, hearing the way her voice had settled into a sultry tone and taking in how womanly her curves had become, it had been so damn frustrating, not being able to reach out and fucking touch her.
And the way she stared at me. Oh, that sweet little girl still wanted me. That teenaged rebel inside of her still craved me like she had all those years ago. I was candy to her eyes, and she couldn't get enough of me, and though my ego was just fine, it had given me a boost. Knowing Theresa was still excited by the prospect of me gave me hope that my plan would work. It gave me hope that I could have the life I’d always wanted, even if it did piss off the people around her.
I’d enjoyed the way her eyes trailed along my chest. I worked hard for my body and was unashamed of that fact. And the tattoos? The tattoos were my attempt at channeling my anger into something productive. A way to distract myself from how fucking boring community college had been. And when I covered my chest and back and shoulders in tattoos, I started my business.
